TACLOBAN CITY- A group of Yolanda victims based in this city expressed their outrage over talk of possible term extension of President Aquino whom they accused of not helping enough to them.
The People Surge, a group composed of Yolanda victims, said that instead of talking on the term extension of Mr. Aquino, his political underlings should give focus in the full rehabilitation of areas hit by Yolanda.
“That is foul. Instead of talking of giving another term for him, we should focus on the rehabilitation of areas hit by Yolanda. Let us not talk about the 2016 elections,” Marissa Cabaljao, spokesperson of the group, in a phone interview.
The group, marking the nine month anniversary of Supertyphoon Yolanda that killed more than 6,000 people in Eastern Visayas, conducted candle lighting in Barangay Rawis, this city.
The massive typhoon resulted for the deaths of 2,691 in Tacloban, considered the ground zero of the world’s strongest typhoon to make landfall.
The group had earlier called for the resignation of Mr. Aquino claiming of his insufficient actions in handling the Yolanda issue.
“Because of these 2016 talks, the issue on Yolanda and helping us victims is no longer being given much attention. This is unfair to us victims. The government should act first in helping us until we are really fully recovered,” Cabaljao said.
She lambasted Interior Secretary Mar Roxas who was the first pushed for a possible second term of Mr. Aquino.
“He is the secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government and yet he is the very first one to transgress our laws,” Cabaljao said.
She said that it is explicit in the Constitution that a President is not eligible for another term after finishing a six- term.
Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez, for his part, said that the issue should be thrown to the people.
“Let the people decide if they want to amend the Constitution,” he said.
He, however, said that instead of making a big deal on Mr. Aquino’s having a second term, there are still more important issues that should be addressed by the national government, particularly on helping areas hit by Yolanda on the recovery efforts.
Romualdez said that he is still waiting as to when the actual work for the rehabilitation of Tacloban would start. This after the President announced during his State of the Nation Address that he already approved the P25 billion rehabilitation program for Tacloban.
Romualdez said that the city government would not have any hands on the rehabilitation program as it would be the national government that would control the funding.
